About Me

I became a registered dietitian over 25 years ago, and started off specializing in weight management. I quickly realized that most of my clients had significant traumas that affected their relationship with food and nutrition, physical activity, and body image.

So, I returned to college and became a therapist. After I began working as a therapist, I noticed many of my clients had parents, partners, or other people in their lives who had narcissistic traits. The narcissistic abuse that clients experienced left them feeling depressed and anxious. 

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As an attachment therapist, my focus is on the impact our earliest relationships have on the way we notice and respond to our own thoughts and feelings. I use emotionally focused therapy skills to help people identify and talk about their own feelings, and learn how to listen to others' feelings as well.

I also use a variety of psychodynamic interventions, including parts therapy interventions, sandtray therapy interventions, art therapy interventions, and play therapy interventions, along with emotional freedom techniques (tapping). I'm trained in parts and memory and EMDR, but I prefer parts therapy because it is less overwhelming. Parts therapy also provides clients a clear path for self-understanding and self-acceptance. And unlike other interventions, you can use parts therapy skills on your own, anywhere, any time.  

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I have extensive personal experience with narcissistic abuse, and have engaged in my own therapeutic journey of narcissism recovery. That said, my work with clients is grounded in science, and I continue to study and learn about narcissism and narcissism recovery. I am particularly interested in the recent advances in neuroscience, which allow us to "see" what happens in the human brain. 

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The one exception to my focus on the science is my interest in personality. One of the handicaps of growing up with a parent who has difficulty seeing and hearing who you are as a person is that you may not know much about your personality. You probably didn't learn as much as you could have about how to maximize your personality strengths, and manage your personality challenges effectively.

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Understanding your personality can help. Dr. Karen Horney was an early psychoanalyst who studied under Freud, and I find her work on personality invaluable. I'm also a fan of a triadic Enneagram, which a personality typing system that isn't evidence-based. I don't expect all clients to like or use Horney's work or the triadic Enneagram in working together, but I find it helpful. 

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If you'd like to learn more about narcissism recovery, personality and temperament, weight management, or healthy cooking (and happy eating!), check out my blog here. Every week you'll find helpful information you can put to work for you, so you can enjoy a lifetime of thriving!